Women’s Assets and their Role in Surviving Displacement and Impoverishment in the Contexts of the War and the Tsunami in Eastern Sri Lanka

Abstract

This paper extends the work of Amirthalingam and Lakshman (forthcoming-b; forthcoming-a) by drawing important lessons regarding the financing of conflict induced displacement of the people of Sampur, in eastern Sri Lanka. Importantly, this work is used here in an attempt to analyze the financial ramifications of disaster induced displacement—in particular displacement due to the tsunami. Inferences about financing tsunami displacement, particularly with quantitative evidence, are extremely rare. At the moment there is a gaping vacuum in this area of the literature. The unique set of data from Sampur can go a long way in filling this vacuum.